ECCO unveils new turtle exhibit

Saturday

Mar 16, 2013 at 5:52 PM

She loves fish, but turtles have a special place in B.J. Ramer's heart.

Joey Millwood

She loves fish, but turtles have a special place in B.J. Ramer's heart. On Saturday, Ramer and the Team ECCO Ocean Center and Aquarium unveiled a new turtle exhibit to the public. A crowd gathered around the aquarium's lead director and founder as she fed a few of the turtles and talked about how some of them came to be in the new exhibit.Most of the turtles, she said, were donated by private owners. The latest edition, Scooter, arrived Wednesday and is getting acclimated to his new digs. The 43-year-old turtle joins fellow turtles Rescue Sue, Fluffy, Boots, Fred Tinkle Jr., Cheeto, Hook, Pablo Picasso and Shella as popular attractions at the Team ECCO aquarium. "We thought it'd be nice to expand the tank and give them room to crawl," Ramer said.The new addition was made possible through a grant from Hendersonville City Council, Ramer said.Saturday was also a celebration of "going green." There was no cover charge to check out the aquarium on Saturday, but donations were accepted. A portion of those proceeds were going to be donated to the Turtle Survival Alliance. TSA is an international organization that works around the world to help turtles. "They do a lot of work with North American aquatic turtles," Ramer said.But for Ramer, it's not just about the love she has for turtles. It's about sharing that love with students in Henderson County. It's about education."We do a lot of turtle education," she said. "It's something the kids here need to learn about."When the aquarium joins TSA, students will be able to take part in a census of turtles across the southeast, she said.The aquarium has been open since October 2011. To donate or for more information, call 828-692-8386 or visit www.teamecco.org.Reach Millwood at 828-694-7881 or at joey.millwood@bluerdigenow.com.